INTENT

At Oak Tree Primary, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. We use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, a systematic and synthetic phonics programme to help us achieve this. All staff have received CPD to ensure a consistent approach across the school. 

We start teaching phonics in Nursery using Foundation for Phonics and make sure children develop phonemic awareness right from the start. Reception and Year One follow a clear progression as set out by Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

As a result, we strive for all our children to be able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. We also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

At Oak Tree Primary, we value reading as a crucial life skill. As children move through the school, we want them to read confidently for meaning and enjoy reading for pleasure. We teach comprehension skills as part of our reading sessions and focus on unfamiliar vocabulary.